


Where This Goes

by momothesweet



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alcohol, Bartender Iwaizumi Hajime, F/M, First Dates, First Meetings, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2020-07-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:21:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25168384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/momothesweet/pseuds/momothesweet
Summary: After a handsome bartender saves you from a sleazy customer, you run into him again in a chance encounter.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Reader
Comments: 20
Kudos: 150





	Where This Goes

**Author's Note:**

> Commission for [edensgarden!](https://archiveofourown.org/users/edensgarden) I really enjoyed writing this :)
> 
> Please note that this is a SFW fic with mature themes, hence the rating. Enjoy!

It’s the perfect night out. You and your friends are at a good bar in town, sharing drinks and jokes as your favorite music blares over the speakers. You’ve been promoted today at work; that promotion includes a pay raise and added vacation time. Part of you can’t believe it. At your age, you should still be grinding to the bone and earning the respect of your superiors. Then again, that’s what you’ve done for the past several years. Your achievements haven’t gone unnoticed, your friends and family have been around to support you, and now here you are. A victory is a victory, and for you, it was rightfully earned. 

If only your love life were just as perfect as everything else.

Time and again, men have come and gone to try and impress you, to try and live up to your standards. Are they too high? Are they really not doing enough? You don’t know. Despite your early accomplishments, there’s a void in your heart you can’t seem to fill. Is it too much to ask for someone to love during this time in your life?

Your friends are aware of your dilemma. Because of that, one of them brings over a guy from the bar who seems friendly enough to hang out with you and everyone else. He sits next to you and smiles, then introduces himself as Sato. He’s your age with a similar job and educational background, as you’ve come to find after briefly introducing yourself.

“It’s really hard to find a girl like you in our field,” he comments, “especially in a position like the one you just got. How’d you do it?”

You roll your glass in your palms and shrug. “Sometimes, I don’t know either. I definitely worked really hard and made sure everything got done properly. I also made sure to be nice to everyone at work. Kindness gets you pretty far, you know.”

“Sure, but so does having a pretty face like yours.”

You sour. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

Sato leans towards you with his head propped up on his fist. “Come on, sweetheart. Don’t act like you got the job just because you ‘worked hard.’ I’ve been working my ass off for three years straight without vacations and I don’t even get a birthday card.”

Your friends are busy having separate conversations with each other. You could interrupt one of them right now and get some help getting this guy away from you. Sato’s not doing anything necessarily wrong, but he’s definitely not someone to bring home, or anywhere else for that matter.

He winks. “You wanna show me what you did to get your promotion?”

“Ew,” you exclaim way too loudly. “No.”

“Come on, I’m sure you’re very talented.”

“I said no,” you say again, voice elevated.

Sato scoffs and reaches forward in an attempt to touch your thigh. “Now, listen here--”

At the same time you turn your body away from him, someone else who isn’t your friend swoops in and knocks Sato’s hand out of the way. His voice is deep, and his words cut like a knife. “Hey. What part of ‘no’ do you not understand, creep?”

Sato immediately throws his hands back. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”

Your friends take notice and watch with you in awe. The stranger’s eyes narrow. “We don’t need any customers like you here. Get out or I’ll make you get out.”

Sato may be a few centimeters taller than him, but the stranger means absolute business given how he flexes his impressive arms, ready to throw a punch, first. The intimidation works. He throws some money on the table, flips off the stranger, and leaves without giving you another look. You exhale deeply while your friend next to you gently rubs your back.

The stranger turns to you and you find that he’s not completely a stranger; he dons an apron, a towel over his shoulder, and a name tag that reads “Iwaizumi.” Relaxing, he speaks to you in a much more subdued manner, “Sorry about that. I can grab you another drink, on the house.” 

You look down and your drink is still mostly full. It doesn’t take you much longer to nod. “That would be nice, thank you.”

He smiles and you don’t notice how it’s much warmer and more genuine than someone who just inappropriately hit on you. Once Iwaizumi takes his leave and makes your drink, your friends bring you back to the positive things that happened today, back to the other parts of your life that make you proud of who you are. Iwaizumi returns shortly before you finish your first drink. As he’s about to leave your table again, you shake your head and motion for him to stay.

“Wait,” you say as you begin to dig through your purse to pull out your wallet and a generous tip. “Please take this.”

Iwaizumi’s eyes widen. “Ma’am, that’s not necessary.”

“Please, Iwaizumi-san,” you say, waving the money in front of him. “It’s the least I can do for defending me from that man earlier.”

He sighs, then concedes by taking your tip. “Thank you very much.”

You smile and turn back around to take your freshly-made drink in your hands. One of your friends glances at you and snickers.

“He’s cute,” they say.

“Don’t.” You take a sip of your drink. It tastes much better than your first. “That’s enough for tonight.”

“But he saved you!” Another friend says.

“So? He was doing his job getting rid of a nuisance in the bar. I don’t owe him anything.”

Your friends groan. They know you’re right, though, and the tension eventually subsides with talk of the latest movies coming out soon and a restaurant you’d love to visit during its soft opening. You leave close to closing, getting one look at Iwaizumi pouring a drink at the bar by chance. He looks back at you.

A spark stirs in you, but you put it out quickly.

***

Your new job goes well so far. It’s definitely more work than in your previous position. However, the organizational skills and network you’ve built prove to be useful, so by the time you get home on weeknights, you don’t feel the need to crash on your couch or immediately groan at the ceiling.

It’s Sunday. You’re a few weeks into your promotion and you’re just now finding your rhythm to your adjusted schedule. The weekend has been great so far; you call your parents and tell them everything about your new job. Of course, they’re happy for you. You go with your friends to see a movie you all talked about beforehand, at the bar where Iwaizumi made you the best version of your favorite drink.

You definitely didn’t think about Iwaizumi a few times over. Especially when you walked by couples at lunch dates during the week. Or when you saw teenagers filming themselves holding each others’ hands for internet fame. 

Were you really meant to simply be around so many people and be so alone all at once?

You try to push the thought out of your head when you park your car and enter the grocery store, looking to buy your food for the week. For a Sunday afternoon, the store isn’t as busy as you thought it would be. Lucky you--you can look for your favorite fruits a little bit longer and not have old people judge you for smiling at them.

You fill your cart at your own leisure, checking everything off your list except for a bottle of wine. You’re looking to try something new this week. Thanks to the extra money in your paychecks, you have enough to splurge on a good bottle to go with your meals.

The shelves of wine are only a little intimidating. There’s so much to choose from--reds, whites, American, French. You stare blankly at a wall of white wines for what feels like forever.

“Waiting for something to jump out at you?”

You flinch when you hear the deep voice next to you. Your luck begins to shuffle at the sight of Iwaizumi, dressed down in sweatpants and Godzilla t-shirt, and carrying a shopping basket with meat and vegetables. You hate that your friends are right--he’s cute.

“There’s a lot of wine here,” you say, avoiding his casual gaze and looking back at the shelves. “I haven’t decided what to pick.”

You don’t see Iwaizumi glance at your cart then look at the wines with you. He steps forward and plucks a bottle from a middle shelf, presenting it brand side up.

“I can only guess what you’re cooking, but this one will be good with almost every meat and seafood. It’s also got a low ABV, so you won’t get wasted if you finish the bottle in one night.”

You look at your cart, then the wine, then at him. There’s a reason you want to avoid looking into his brown eyes. For someone who looks like an ass-kicker, his gaze screams total softness. Combine it with his smile and you’ve tasked yourself to get to know him more before you leave.

“You know your alcohol pretty well,” you say.

Iwaizumi shrugs. “I have to. Lots of people ask for recommendations at work so I try to stay up to date.”

You take the wine bottle from him and nestle it in with the rest of your groceries in your cart. “Thanks for this. And, um. Thanks again for what you did for me at the bar.”

“No problem. Guys like that piss me off. I try hard to kick ‘em out when I can.”

“Wow,” you say, genuinely surprised that he’s a nice person on top of being hot, “that’s amazing. I bet a lot of girls are grateful for you.”

He nods, looking as though he’s trying to come up with something that won’t drive you away. “Someone’s gotta do the job. I wouldn’t want some scumbag hitting on a pretty girl like you.”

There’s the buzzword. You blush, unable to stop yourself from asking him, “You think I’m pretty?”

“Well, uh--” it’s his turn to look nervous. He rubs the back of his neck, looking away from you. It would be a crime to not take advantage of the few seconds of nervous laughter and admire his appearance, head to toe. “Yeah. I heard you talk a lot about your job. That’s really cool how you got promoted.”

“Do you want to hear more about it?” You grab the wine out of your cart and present it to him in a similar fashion as he did earlier. “You can tell me more about wine, too.”

Iwaizumi laughs, reaching to flip the bottle in your hands so that the label is face-up. With a gentle touch, he also angles your hands just right, like you’re a sommelier in training. Your cheeks burn. His hands are big and his fingertips tingle your skin when they slide across it. “I’d like that. I’ll give you my number.”

The two of you exchange information. Before you tote your cart off to the checkout lane, he checks his phone and says your name out loud.

You really like the way he says it.

***

You haven’t been on a proper date in a while. Most of the time, the guys you’ve met either ghost you or want you as a mistress. You’re not sure why the universe decided to have you attract those types of people. You just really, really,  _ really _ hope Iwaizumi isn’t masking as one of them.

The two of you text back and forth the week after your run-in at the grocery store. You both settle on getting coffee and taking a walk in the park. Simple enough. He pays for your drink once the two of you meet on time and the pleasantries begin.

Iwaizumi has been a bartender for a few years now. His big goal is to open up his own bar. He’s got the business and hospitality background from college, and he wants to actually use that knowledge someday. Outside of work, he likes volleyball and movies.

“Why didn’t you suggest a theater for a date, then?” you ask him, comfortable in your seat as Iwaizumi sips his coffee across from you. “There’s that new American superhero movie that just came out.”

“That would have been nice to see, but I wouldn’t have been able to talk to you the whole time. I’d rather look at you than some flashy blonde guy on screen.”

You blush. You’ve come to find that Iwaizumi is naturally a smooth talker, even if he doesn’t seem like he’s trying. “You’re really sweet, you know that?”

“Heh. It’s kinda hard not to be when you’re pretty and have got good stuff going for you. What do you do again?”

You tell him. Iwaizumi asks about your job, that promotion you spoke about at the bar, your family. You notice his gaze never leaving yours, how he smiles when you talk about your favorite parts about your work and your hobbies. He asks all the right questions and finds common ground somehow with some of the things you like. You almost forget that you were both supposed to take a walk in the park. The two of you only notice when a barista asks if you wanted more to drink, long after you’ve both emptied your cups.

It’s a beautiful day. The two of you walk casually around a path, passing by kids and people with their dogs. The sight of a young couple holding hands gets you thinking more about how well your own date is going with Iwaizumi, and what will happen next. You don’t realize you get quieter when this happens.

“Hey,” Iwaizumi notices, gently bumping into your shoulder. “You okay?”

You hesitate before nodding. “Yeah. I just...I was thinking about how this is all going really well and that I’m glad you’re not some weirdo who’s looking for a threesome with his girlfriend or something.”

He stops walking and scrunches his face. “What?”

“Yeah,” you laugh. “That’s happened a couple of times.”

“Ugh.” Iwaizumi shakes off whatever unsavory thoughts he has in his head, then reaches forward to take a brief, featherlight hold of your arm. “Well. I don’t have a girlfriend and I don’t want this to be our only date.”

Your heart skips a beat. “You mean that?”

“Uh-huh. I like talking to you and I wanna keep hanging out with you. We’ll see where this goes.”

You like that. It’s not a promise of commitment, nor a total dealbreaker. You don’t know where this is going, but you’d like to go with him, whatever this is.

“We’ll see where this goes,” you repeat, then smile. Your fingers twitch as Iwaizumi’s hand moves up and down your arm. Going right for it, you reach closer to his hand. “Can we, um…”

He takes your hand in yours and smiles back. “Come on. You wanna watch some people play volleyball?”

You nod and follow him along when he leads the way.

You’ll see where this goes.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Comments, kudos, feedback and a bottle of rosé are greatly appreciated. <3
> 
> [Tumblr](peachofwork.tumblr.com)


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